Labor & Employment
Jun. 4, 2015
Jeffrey D. Wohl
Paul Hastings LLP San Francisco
Wohl uses potential class member declarations to defeat claims against his employer clients.
"We have a very strict protocol that we follow designed to ensure that we are only talking to people who volunteer to give the interview," he said. "If they want to talk to us, great. If not, that's OK. There are no repercussions." In July 2014, Wohl defeated class certification in a misclassification claim by plaintiffs who challenged their designation as managers by Rite Aid Corp. Wohl used scores of declarations from potential class members attesting to their classification as managers to defeat class certification. "It's a very powerful device to both show a lack of commonality and that the client is in fact in compliance with the law," Wohl said. In response, the plaintiffs' attorney has refiled multiple lawsuits against Rite Aid. According to Wohl, a second firm is now involved in representing what he estimates to be about 100 individual plaintiffs - some suing individually and others suing in small groups. While it isn't a typical response to class decertification, Wohl - who's actively involved in defending against the multiple suits - said it does happen. "Certainly any individual attorney has a right to bring suit on their own behalf. We respect that and also strongly disagree that any of these folks were misclassified." Fenley et al. v. Rite Aid Corp., CV12-229127 (Santa Clara County Super. Ct., filed July 25, 2012). He's also successfully used the technique of using potential class member declarations in the class certification battle on behalf of Kmart Corp. and Amgen Corp. in the last year. In addition to his work with Paul Hastings, Wohl is also a fellow with the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. - HETERT-QEBU WALTERSHetert Waltersn
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
jeremy@reprintpros.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 949-702-5390
Send a letter to the editor:
Email: letters@dailyjournal.com